"The welder" Park Hang-seo

With Mr. Park Hang-seo attracting attention in Vietnamese football, the Korean press is particularly interested in the situation of the national team. Even SBS - one of the major TV stations in Korea decided to buy the broadcasting rights of the Vietnamese team's matches in the group stage of the AFF Cup 2018.

During the warm-up, Nguyen Trong Hoang received special attention from coach Park Hang-seo. Photo: Trung Kien

As soon as Van Toan's injury was announced, Kookmin Ilbo newspaper reassured public opinion with accurate analysis. At the 2018 AFC U23 Championship, Vietnam U23 made history in Changzhou (China). At that tournament, young defender Doan Van Hau suffered a thigh muscle tear after the final match of the group stage against Syria, the player born in 1999 had to miss the journey with his teammates to write a new page in history in the continental playground.

Immediately, Mr. Park sent Pham Xuan Manh onto the field and the SLNA defender was not a bad choice for the left wing of the team. U23 Vietnam overcame a series of big names, only accepting defeat against Uzbekistan in the final, convincingly winning the runner-up position of U23 Asia.

At ASIAD 18, 25-year-old midfielder Do Hung Dung was one of three players over 23 years old that Coach Park trusted to choose to attend the Games in Indonesia. With his brilliant performance, Hung Dung contributed greatly to helping the Vietnamese Olympic team enter the round of 16 of ASIAD 18 with the top position in Group D. Unexpectedly, after a collision with a Japanese player, this midfielder broke his big toe, and had to sadly say goodbye to his teammates and return home early after the group stage.

Duc Huy is a name that has been “filled in the gap” and has performed excellently in the role of central midfielder. In many matches, he sent Van Quyet and then Van Duc to play as central midfielders and they have fulfilled the coach’s wishes. The “Park-ball” style of play requires players to play at least 2 positions so that they can fill in the gap when needed.

It seems like the curse that every tournament the team will lose a key player comes true. After losing defenders and midfielders, this time in the AFF Cup 2018 we will lose striker Van Toan. With 1 tournament, if we reach the final, we will play 8 matches and Van Toan is in the calculation to play from the 4th match to cause a surprise.

Van Toan is likely to participate in the second leg of the semi-final. Photo: Internet

It was quite surprising that the HAGL player was injured during a training session, before the final match of the group stage against Cambodia. With the diagnosis of a broken knee cartilage, the biggest tournament in the region has ended early for the HAGL striker.

However, in the team's final training session before leaving for the Philippines, Vietnam team doctor Tran Anh Tuan concluded that Van Toan had a hamstring injury and a grade 1 meniscus ligament sprain. If he progresses well, Van Toan will likely be able to participate in the second leg of the semi-finals.

Kookmin Ilbo believes that Van Toan's injury is a real loss for the Vietnamese team, but it does not make it difficult for coach Park Hang-seo. In fact, this is the third tournament the Korean coach has lost players, but with his talent, he has resolved them all very well. Right in the group stage of the AFF Cup 2018, he used Trong Hoang and Van Duc to replace defender Vu Van Thanh successfully.

With Coach Park’s philosophy of building a team, no player is irreplaceable. In situations like this, the Korean strategist always knows how to find reasonable adjustments to replace injured players who cannot continue playing.

Mr. Park has just “introduced” Tien Linh impressively in the role of striker. He still has the “card” Ha Duc Chinh in his hand and the plan to “renew” Quang Hai by returning this player to his favorite position./.

AT